Oh My God

Wednesday night and another gig in Birmingham. Kaiser Chiefs at the National Indoor Arena. I'd been looking forward to this one for a while; especially as I knew Graham Coxon was supporting. I was more than a little dismayed, therefore, to wake up on Wednesday morning with a pounding head, sore throat and all the signs that I was in the grip of some kind of evil cold virus. Missing out on the evening was never an option, though, so I dosed myself up with Nurofen and hoped for the best...

The last time I visited the National Indoor Arena was September of last year when we took Daisy to see Balamory Live. Thankfully, Miss Hoolie and co were nowhere in sight this time and the venue looked very different with the stall seating removed to form a massive standing area. For reasons best known to themselves, the stewards decided that no one was allowed to stand until shortly before the gig started and so we were made to sit on the floor - like rows of overgrown primary school children, waiting for assembly to begin. An effective form of torture for the over-30's! Needless to say, as soon as the stewards gave the go-ahead to stand, there was a huge surge forward. Cam and I made it very close to the front; more than a little crushed but with a good view of the stage.

First up were Polysics, a four piece electro-punk band from Tokyo. Wearing matching red boiler suits and black wraparound shades, they looked like they'd stepped off the set of a third-rate sci-fi film. When they started to play, my initial thought was, this is completely insane, but by the third song I found myself getting in to the music. The band's cover of My Sharona went down particularly well with the crowd. The band have an incredible energy. Singer and guitarist, Hayashi, is especially manic and his performance really had to be seen to be believed. I wouldn't want to listen to Polysics every day but would definitely go and see them again some time.

Although I hadn't listened to much of Graham Coxon's music previously, what I'd heard, I'd really liked and I loved the single, Freakin' Out. Graham's performance on Wednesday certainly didn't disappoint and was marred only by a plump, adolescent Chiefette in an unflattering red t-shirt who persisted in shouting, "Boo, Gerroff, Kaisers!" at the end of every song. I was sorely tempted to turn round and give her a piece of my mind but settled for a Paddington Bear-style hard stare instead. Graham's set left me feeling that I should definitely check out some of his albums. He's quite easy on the eye too - my next pin-up, maybe?

By the time the Kaisers hit the stage, I was feeling well past my best and wanted nothing more than to go home and lie down in a darkened room. Had I been feeling better, I'm sure I'd have appreciated the gig a whole lot more. The atmosphere in the arena was truly amazing. The entire standing area erupted into a pulsating sea of moshing bodies, arms in the air, saluting singer Ricky Wilson. I haven't seen such adulation since watching the screaming girlies worship the boys from Busted when we took Joe and George to see them last year. However, it was not only girls deifying Ricky; boys and girls alike were completely transfixed. The band performed an excellent set with several new songs as well as those from Employment. By the time, the band reached the last song of the encore - a lively performance of Oh My God with significant audience participation, the atmosphere on the floor had reached melting point. Not only were my poor toes painful from being repeatedly jumped on but I was headbutted - acidentally - in the nose by an over-exuberant fan. It was a sore and subdued version of myself that limped back to the car park.


Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs (Employment, 2005)

Like A Star

Thursday evening and a feeling of déjà vu as, once again, Cam and I waited in line outside the Birmingham Academy. The wait was to be slightly more interesting this time, though...

A BBC van appeared on the other side of the road and, under the baleful glare of two stern-looking traffic wardens, a man jumped out and began to extend a long, aerial-topped pole from the roof of the van. Birmingham's local radio station, BBC WM, were doing a feature on Corinne Bailey Rae and a roving reporter had been sent to interview the people waiting to go in to the gig. Largely because we were the only ones to make eye-contact with the guy from the radio station - most of the queue studiously feigning great interest in their footwear as he approached - Cam and I were the chosen victims and were broadcast live to the West Midlands as we answered a number of questions about the venue and what we thought of Corinne. Interview over and with the radio guy safely out of earshot, Cam and I looked at each other and both burst into slightly hysterical laughter! (I managed to track down the interview yesterday on the 'listen again' facility of BBC WM's website. I sat there with toes curled, expecting the worst but surprisingly enough, we both sounded remarkably articulate. I don't think it's time to give up the day jobs just yet, though!)

Anyway, on to the gig. I was surprised when we got into the venue to find that Corinne was actually appearing in Academy 2 which is upstairs from the main venue and has an audience capacity of only 600. Still, I wasn't complaining; we were right at the front, with the stage a mere metre or so away and the intimacy of such a small venue only made the experience more special.

The support act was James Morrison and his band. (No relation to the infamous Jim Morrison of The Doors, as far as I know). They were the best support act I've seen in a long time. James has an incredible voice, very bluesy and soulful and, at the tender age of 21, he hopefully has a glittering career ahead of him. I'll definitely be buying his album as soon as it's released.

It seemed to take forever for the roadies to take James Morrison's equipment off the stage and tune up the guitars and double bass for Corinne Bailey Rae's band but at last the tiny stage was ready and was certainly filled to capacity with Corinne and her seven band members (a three-strong brass section, drummer, double bass/bass guitarist, lead guitarist and keyboard player) and two backing singers. Corinne herself looked simply amazing. She's far more beautiful in the flesh than she appears in her photos - very petite and elegant with a gorgeous smile that lights up her whole face. The entire set was completely faultless. The standard of musicianship was excellent and Corinne's voice sent shivers down my spine. The songs were all taken from the eponymous album, with the exception of a brilliant cover of the Led Zeppelin classic, Since I've Been Loving You (harking back to Corinne's roots in the indie guitar band, Helen). It was a perfect evening and ended all too soon, despite a two song encore. I left the venue feeling exceptionally privileged.


Like A Star - Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae, 2006)

Young For Eternity

Friday and as Daisy and my mum left to collect the boys from school, I skipped off in the late afternoon sunshine to catch the train to Birmingham. There's something about train travel: the feeling of anticipation, the scenery (picturesque or otherwise) rolling past the window, the chance to unashamedly people watch and eavesdrop on the conversations of strangers... Our local train station is a convenient five minute walk from home and I often catch the train to Leicester but only rarely get the chance to take a longer journey. Unfortunately, I appear to have the knack of sabotaging the smooth running of the railway network. The mere fact of me planning to catch a train will inevitably ensure that the said train is subject to a lengthy delay, if not cancelled entirely. However, Friday must have been my lucky day; the train rolled into Birmingham New Street station a whole minute ahead of schedule...

I love Birmingham - both in its current tarted up for the new millenium guise and the down at heel appearance I remember from the late eighties and my days as a student at Aston University. It was the city to which I made my escape from the confines of small-town life; the place where I met some of my best friends, had my first taste of independence and met my husband. Birmingham has a lot to answer for!

The purpose of Friday's visit was a Subways gig at the Birmingham Academy. Cam had bought the tickets and, it has to be said, The Subways are perhaps more to his taste than mine. Although we've had the album for a while, I've never really managed to get into it. Anyway, Cam had driven into Birmingham (he works on the outskirts, not far from The NEC) and I'd arranged to meet him in the queue for the gig. One look at the average person in the queue (under 20, skinny, dyed black hair...) and I began to feel slightly conspicuous. There was another guy of around our age in the queue behind us but he was quickly joined by his daughter and some of her mates. I think we were definitely the oldest people there not accompanying minors!

The gig itself was pretty good. Our conscientious queuing had secured us a place front centre of the balcony (too old for the mosh pit!) so we had a fab view. Cam took loads of pics, I'll try to post some later. Two support acts: The Milk Teeth (well worth a listen) and The Dodgems (great stage presence) and then on to the main event. The Subways have an incredible energy and what they may lack in musical accomplishment they definitely make up for in enthusiasm. Billy really knows how to work the crowd and Charlotte is absolutely awesome to watch: dancing around like a maniac for the entire gig - that girl must be astonishingly fit! Plenty of crowd surfing throughout and a couple of spectacular stage dives from Billy (it looked for a moment like security weren't going to let him back on stage after the first one, having mistaken him for an over zealous crowd surfer!). I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a Friday night. We're back to the same venue on Thursday to see Corinne Bailey Rae. Compare and contrast!


Young For Eternity - The Subways (Young For Eternity, 2005)